Our first teenager woke up with a big smile at around 9 this morning. It was time to Factime the relatives!
We knocked off six Tyndalls with one call to Pittsburgh, as Gram and Banka were visiting Ross, Jill and my two Neanderthal nephews (:-)). Gram even occasionally looked at the camera on her iPad instead of the picture of us on her screen. None of us could recall later whether Banka got a word in edgewise!
Our main objective today was to visit the wonderful cat monument of downtown Kuching....
I'm kidding of course. This tacky, actually creepy, statue in the middle of a roundabout is actually ranked highly on trip advisor.... Which really makes you question the validly of that particular ratings sight. I mean really, should the worlds "nice" and "cat statue" ever really go together? Ri-dic-u-lous. Having said that, I would definitely blow this picture up, frame it and give it to someone.... If only I knew someone that likes crappy pictures of cats.... Hmmm....
Abby and I showed the other two the waterfront - it's really quite nice.
We walked around the the core for a while, exploring local shops and kind of getting lost in the meandering streets. We passed this pretty impressive, though modern mosque - in Malaysia you're constantly reminded of the "harmony of religions" which seems to just work, and quite peacefully, some should note.
Our real plan today was to check out Semenggoh Wildlife Centre for a chance at seeing some Old Men of the Forest - the meaning of the name of the Orangutan. Beth's dad had favoured the Sepilok centre in Sabah which we will go to later, and we'd heard mixed reviews about this centre. However, we also knew that experiences at these things vary wildly from day to day based on what happens with these wild animals - very unpredictable. Also in favour of us going today was that we were wearing our lucky Tyndall shoes.
We hired a cab for the return trip to Semenggoh and got there around 2pm after a half hour drive. The first animal we spotted (in a protective cage) was a gigantic crocodile!
Very soon, Orangutans started coming out of the woodwork. First we saw this mother/baby due - so cute. It's always been so fun watching the Orangutans at the Toronto Zoo, but this was a much more enhanced experience for sure.
The park road ends in an area half the size of a football field with low ropes marking a boundary - that's it. The animals are hopefully lured to the area for twice daily feelings. The park ranger gave a little talk - he seemed very personable, very committed to his job and quite passionate.
The ranger explained that this was not a zoo - it's a wildlife centre where they try and lure the animals to the feeding area at certain times... But the animals are in charge and they don't have watches. Today, they were "supposed" to come at 3pm, but decided to arrive at 2pm, just after we got there. He told us that most of them are not aggressive, but to stay away if they approach and not to have any food or drinks because this could (and has) led to accidents. I felt it was very easy to forget that there were no cages, no bars - nothing between us and the men and women of the forest.
We really got lucky with the seven that showed up today - they had only had one show up in the morning for example. We just sat there in awe.... Watching.
The odd way that they use their arms and legs interchangeably with the same functionality is really fascinating. We saw a couple of the teenagers doing upside down cartwheels on the ropes - hand to hand to foot to foot.
This one was casually climbing with two limbs, while eating with a third and carrying a coconut with the fourth. It was hallarious and bizarre to watch.
It started to rain (pour really) and most of them took off. The queen, shown here, who is 44, casually moved up the side of the road for a drink from a small pool that had formed. Then she climbed up a tree and grabbed a bunch of leafy branches and put them on her head like a makeshift umbrella. It was so..... Human.
We waited and watched the queen for about 20 minutes while the rain really poured down, then we packed it in and headed for our waiting car. It was a pretty impromptu trip to Semenggoh but we were glad we came. I could really sit there and watch the Old Men of the Forest all day long!
We didn't forget it was Abby's birthday, so we got our driver to drop us off at one of the many ultra modern malls in Kuching, with the plan of watching the Minions movie... Dear god - it was even worse than I'd expected.... A spinoff to a successful kids movie franchise that featured yellow, non-talking entities that don't really have any purpose in life. Uh huh... Terrible, but the kids semi-enjoyed it (I'm sure it will be rated around a 4.2 on Trip Advisor, with such scintillating headlines as "Great movie about Minions" and "Finally, the movie some of us have been waiting for").
The biggest birthday present of all came walking into the hotel shortly after we got home.... The VERSLY! Yeah, it was great to see them, and it all felt a little déjà vu-ish, sitting having some beers in our room later on. It's so great to have them here. The kids will now describe our trip as follows... "The boring sort of Japan.... Japan with Steve and Kristine!!!!!.... The lull part I.... The Mudfords!!!!.... The lull part II.... The Versly!!!!.... The rest of the trip (aka... The lull part III)".
We have now lost our kids for two and a half weeks! It's funny to see them in the peer-zone so hard and fast after reuniting with Matt and Jeff. They even showed them the MuddyTin production of the set in Dalat horror movie the four girls made called "Room 407".... Da da da!!! Could another movie be on tap this visit? We shall see.
Welcome Versly family, welcome!
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